Growing ‘pig butchering’ scam costing victims billions | #phishing | #scams | #hacking | #aihp

AUSTIN (KXAN) — On the search for love, many people turn to dating apps, but a few friendly texts with a potential match can quickly turn into one of the newest and fastest growing scams.

“Pig butchering” or “pig slaughtering” is a crypto scam in which victims are enticed to put money into an account, essentially fattening that account up, before disappearing with large amounts of cryptocurrency.

A recent post from the Austin Police Department highlights the growing scam and what you should look for so you don’t become a victim.

“The scammer works to make an emotional relationship with their victim with the end goal of persuading the victim to invest cryptocurrency into a fictitious website controlled by the scammer,” said APD Detective Nicoletti.

How to avoid becoming a victim?

Do not send money, trade, or invest with a person you have only met online.

Do not speak about your financial position or investments.